Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has begun the start-up of pre-commissioning activities at a polycarbonate production complex in the Tianjin Binhai New Area of China, the company has said.

In its filing to the Saudi Arabian bourse Tadawul, SABIC said that the project is being developed by Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical Company (SSTPC), which is a joint venture between SABIC and the Chinese energy giant Sinopec.

Earlier media reports have stated that SABIC will be setting up the industrial complex for the production of polycarbonate in China at a total investment of $1.7bn in partnership with Sinopec. Covering an area of 670,000sqm, the complex is part of Phase Two of the project and has been approved by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Phase One of the project began production in January 2010 and has an annual capacity of one million metric tonnes of ethylene. The financial impact of the project will be reflected after the pre-commissioning activity and start of commercial operation, the filing concluded.